Neuheisel stands up to drunken WSU fans

TED MILLE, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

By TED MILLER, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, November 24, 2002

Kai Ellis forces a fumble -- it was ruled a backward pass -- by Cougars backup quarterback Matt Kegel that the UW defensive end recovered in the third overtime.
Photo: Grant M. Haller/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Kai Ellis forces a fumble -- it was ruled a backward pass -- by...

Cougars fans, anticipating a trip to the Fiesta Bowl and a shot at the national championship, had things going their way until the UW rallied.
Photo: Grant M. Haller/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Cougars fans, anticipating a trip to the Fiesta Bowl and a shot at...

A medic treats University of Washington Daily photo editor Chris Jordan after he was cut by an object thrown from the Martin Stadium stands following the wild finish.
Photo: Grant M. Haller/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The girl was blond, drunk and wearing a Washington State sweatshirt. She followed Rick Neuheisel and Cody Pickett up the tunnel away from Martin Stadium after Washington shocked Washington State 29-26 in triple overtime.

Another fan, who was short in stature but not in foul-mouthed idiocy, bellowed similar insults at Neuheisel, Pickett and a couple of other Huskies. Another had to be restrained by his friends as he -- albeit with dubious prospects -- acted like he wanted to attack the UW players.

When the Huskies exited the tunnel, they crossed an open area of about 100 yards in front of the WSU athletic building heading toward the locker room. A group of about 30 Cougars fans was waiting.

One made a move toward Pickett, shouting insults in an expletive-laced tirade.

Neuheisel had had enough. He turned suddenly and confronted the buffoon.

"Get your (bleeping) hands off my players," Neuheisel said, blowing up at the guy and his buddies, who were suddenly speechless.

It was a revealing moment, which fortunately ended before a brawl broke out, with a little help from a couple of state troopers.

For all his so-called slickness, for all the smooth gloss that his critics count as style over substance, Neuheisel has passion inside him and is willing to fight for his team. Literally.

That's a big reason why a rotten season has transformed into a decent one, and the Huskies, who are again receiving votes in the national polls, likely would end up ranked in the final polls with a bowl victory.

"I told our team during the midst of our slump that we had a chance to write our own epitaph," Neuheisel said.

"I told them it could be an unbelievable memory for all of us in terms of how you deal with adversity."

Too bad Cougars fans failed to deal with their own adversity like adults.

There will be revisionist history about what happened after perhaps the most bizarre Apple Cup on record.

Some will minimize the number of bottles -- some of which were obviously filled with liquids that had already passed through someone's system -- and other objects that were hurled from the stands.

It was hundreds, not just a few. Many were made of glass and were full. One gave Craig Hill, the UW beat writer for The News Tribune in Tacoma and a WSU graduate, a concussion.

Some will justify the reaction by pointing out that a couple of UW players taunted the stunned Cougars fans. Some will note that a number of objects were thrown back into the stands.

Those are limp excuses, though Neuheisel should chat with some of his players about their actions.

The fundamental fact is a significant number of Cougars fans behaved terribly, and anyone associated with the program who cares even an iota about class and sportsmanship should be ashamed.

"You hate it that great players have to lose, but I wished him best of luck next week," Pickett said.

Gesser also hugged and congratulated UW safety Greg Carothers, with whom he had exchanged less friendly remarks during the game. Gesser did that with a number of players.

Shavies exited his team's despondent locker room, chased Pickett down in the tunnel, embraced him and wished him luck.

Hard to believe anyone could have walked off that field any more upset than Gesser, whose high ankle sprain that forced him out of the game with 9:44 remaining was the contest's unquestionable turning point.

Despite constant double coverage, Williams caught 12 passes for 169 yards, and his 48-yard grab between two defenders was the key play of a 92-yard touchdown drive that cut the Cougars' lead to 20-17.

During the Huskies' three-game winning streak -- the Northwest championship -- he has caught 35 passes for 461 yards (153.7 yards per game) with four touchdowns.

In two Apple Cups, Williams has 23 receptions for 372 yards.

Anderson missed his first four field goals, though the last one was saved by a roughing-the-kicker penalty, allowing him a second chance from 35 yards. He then made four straight, tying the game with a 27-yard effort with 15 seconds left, and then booting kicks of 34, 46 and 49 yards in overtime.

"John is money," Pickett said. "When the game is on the line for (the past) four years, he's come through."

The UW defense also turned in a solid effort.

The Huskies had six sacks, with Kai Ellis and Terry Johnson recording two apiece. Ellis led the best performance of the season for the defensive line with 12 tackles, five coming for a loss.

Linebacker Ben Mahdavi had a game-high 14 tackles, while freshman cornerback Nate Robinson grabbed a critical interception, which set up Anderson's game-tying field goal, and a key pass defense in overtime.

THE PLAY: The game ended on what surely is the most controversial play in Apple Cup history.

With Ellis in his face in the third overtime, quarterback Matt Kegel, who replaced Gesser, tried to throw a pass to his left. Ellis ended up with the football.

The officials ruled that the pass went backwards and was therefore a fumble, a fact that WSU coach Mike Price took vehement issue with after the game.

Ellis claimed he intercepted the pass, fumbled it and then regained control. In that scenario, whether the pass went backwards or not is irrelevant.

Based on replays, it's hard to tell exactly what happened. The pass looked sideways, and Ellis did appear to control the ball, though most Cougs likely will reject that conclusion.

GOIN' BOWLING: The Huskies (7-5, 4-4) won't know their bowl destination until after the WSU-UCLA game on Dec. 7. The Pac-10 has seven bowl eligible teams for six spots.

If WSU beats UCLA and Arizona beats Arizona State, the Huskies wold end up tied for third in the Pac-10 with UCLA, Arizona State and Oregon State.

The Sun Bowl would have the first pick between those teams and is under no obligation to eliminate the UW because it lost to UCLA and ASU.

Of course, things are further complicated by USC. If the Trojans beat Notre Dame and WSU beats UCLA, then the Pac-10 could have two BCS teams, which would put one of the third-place finishers in the Holiday Bowl.

If WSU beats UCLA and Arizona State beats Arizona, then the Sun Devils would finish alone in third.

If UCLA beats WSU and Arizona State beats Arizona, then USC would go to the Rose Bowl, WSU to the Holiday Bowl and the Sun Bowl would pick between the Bruins and the Sun Devils, the Insight Bowl getting the other.

In other words, nothing is settled, other than the UW avoiding the embarrassment of playing in the Seattle Bowl, which might end up with Oregon State or Oregon.

Our bet? The Huskies will play Air Force on Christmas Day in the Las Vegas Bowl.

QUICKLY: The victory marked the first time the Huskies have defeated a team ranked in the top three in the AP poll since the 1984 season, when the Huskies beat third-ranked Michigan 20-11 in Ann Arbor. . . . The Huskies now have their fourth five-game winning streak in the 95 years of the series. They have a pair of eight-game winning streaks in the series (1959-66 and 1974-81). . . . With 368 yards passing Saturday, Pickett has thrown for 839 yards in the past two Apple Cups. He became the first Pac-10 quarterback to pass for over 4,000 yards in a season (4,186). . . . Neuheisel is 9-2 against Northwest rivals over his four seasons.